Destination Marketing Organizations were, in most communities, the first agencies that jumped in to assist their communities' small businesses in the days after the Ides of March (the day travel stopped in America). And, there is little doubt that DMOs will be the agencies that lead their economies back from the brink...if they are still standing when it is time for them to perform their magic, jump-starting travel through stellar marketing.
One that will be hobbled in that effort will be British Columbia's Lake Country Chamber of Commerce, as the District that has contracted with them for destination marketing services canceled that contract last week...not just temporarily, but for the rest of the year. In a story in the Lake Country Calendar, the District's Communication Manager said it was an easy cut to make: "Funding a service that may put people at risk during this COVID‐19 pandemic may present a risk to the district both legally and financially, on top of the greater community health risk." Not that anyone at the Chamber was actively inviting visitors to their community at this moment in time. This was just convenient.
This type of logic defies reality. This is like furloughing a fire department because there haven't been any fires to fight for the past month...yet knowing that fire season is coming. DMOs will be the firefighters their communities turn to when we can again travel.
Sadly, this won't be the last time we see a story like this. DMOs need to ensure that the lifesaving work they are performing for their business community is recognized and respected. Like no other, this is our hour.
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